The light inside me
by arii-lu
Summary: Something weird has happened and time has stopped all around. For the first time Kisara is able to see beyond the Seto Kaiba she's known for so long and open a door to the young boy he was once. One-shot.
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

 **A/N:** Short one-shot of an image that came into my head and couldn't get it out. A couple of clarifications are valid for this one: 1. This Kaiba character is based on the dub Kaiba, where he is even less open to magic and all the occult stuff. Also this is based in the huge difference between young orphan Seto and grown up Seto Kaiba we see in the dub. I feel the difference is not so big in the sub (but that's just my opinion). 2. This is also based on a headcanon of mine where a part of Kisara's spirit is basically stuck within BEWD card for as long as Seto is alive. It's her way to keep protecting him throughout the years.

This started as a one-shot, however I'm hesitant on whether or not I should continue it. For now I'm marking it as complete, but that's open to change for sure. If you have an opinion about this, please let me know through the reviews or PM or anything at all.

Please review! :)

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 _ **The light inside me**_

Seto Kaiba drew a card from his deck and smiled. "Now I sacrifice my two monsters to summon… BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!" he announced to his opponent. "Brace yourself for the end!"

Blue Eyes appeared majestically in the field in front of Kaiba. The dragon stretched its wings, looked into the eyes of the other duelist and let out a deafening roar. The sound created a wave that froze in place everything that it touched as it expanded. Both duelists and everything around them stood still. Everything but the Dragon.

The beast lowered its head near the ground and breathed out. The air coming out spiraled while drawing a human silhouette. Kisara's form started forming beside the Dragon, her eyes closed and arms opened to receive her essence as she separated from her Ka. As she materialized, Blue Eyes lifted its head back up and Kisara opened her eyes to see the monsters and the duelist in front of her.

Time had stopped, and the person standing opposite of her had a terrified expression crossing his features. This was a person who had just realized their doom. She was used to that. Most times Blue Eyes was played, it meant the end was coming. It was easy for Kisara to remember the fear in Kaiba's opponents as the Dragon released its power on them. She looked up to her Ka once again, who was just waiting for orders to attack.

This was the first time she had been able to separate from the Dragon so completely. The beast felt as an extension of her own self that she could control, like it was back when she was alive. Realizing this, she turned around to see Kaiba. His right arm was extended, his index finger pointing forward probably about to order the attack. His left hand was clenched into a fist.

The expression in his face was also much known to Kisara. Determined, confident, arrogant. She focused on the vicious and sadistic smile playing in his lips. That horrible gesture that appeared every single time he knew he was seconds away from a victory; seconds away from proving once more he was better than everybody else.

Kisara felt a wave of sadness rush through her. Kaiba's face was so familiar to her, and even then all she could see was a complete stranger. Priest Seto was standing right there so close it hurt, but she couldn't recognize him. She shut her eyes and put her arms around her, trying to hold herself together. When she gazed back at him, it was anger what was filling her body and rushing through her veins. The look of hatred in Kaiba's eyes was the one thing that would forever remind her that this man was not Seto. It didn't matter how hard she searched for him, Kaiba always found a way to destroy her hope.

"I don't care who you are, but you are not _him_!" Kisara yelled at Kaiba, her voice filled with desperation. _Blue Eyes_ , she thought to her Ka. The Dragon looked at her, as Kisara extended her hand forward. _You know what to do_. The beast turned around and hesitated to attack.

"Blue Eyes, _I_ control you! You are a part of me. Now att—"

 _Help me…_

Kisara stopped right away when she heard this soft cry for help. She looked around her but couldn't see where it had come from.

 _Please, help me…_

She turned to Kaiba to find a little boy in front of her, his head down and in the verge of tears. She was left speechless as she realized this was a younger version of Kaiba, maybe 10 or 12 years old. He looked so much like the Seto who had rescued her so long ago.

"Please, don't hurt me," the boy pleaded as he rose his head to her. He tried to walk in her direction but couldn't. Kisara noticed he had shackles around his wrists, with chains that reached back to Kaiba and that seemed to continue to his chest to the place where his heart was. The chains went through his hands, making him the one restraining the boy.

"It's not his fault!" The boy continued. "Why do you want to hurt us?" He demanded with tears streaming down his face.

Kisara was horrified. _What am I doing?_ she asked herself. She looked from the boy to Kaiba, who couldn't even realize what was happening. All she could do was stare back at both of them feeling ashamed of letting her anger and frustration take control. Lastly, she gazed back at the Dragon, who had been stopped just seconds before what could have turned into a mortal attack. _Stand down_ , she thought.

She ran to the boy and fell to her knees in front of him with a tear escaping her eyes.

"I'm so sorry…" Kisara said to young Kaiba. "My spirit has been trapped in this world for so long… Sometimes I just don't know… I… I'm sorry".

"It's not his fault," the boy repeated.

"Who are you and why are you here?" She asked while cupping his face in her hands.

"I'm Seto," he answered shyly. "I got locked away when he needed to get stronger and tougher because he thinks I'm weak."

Kisara looked at the chains that went back to Kaiba's heart. This boy was trapped even more than she was. He'd been sacrificed so Kaiba could survive. She put a finger under the boy's chin and lifted his head a little. He stared back with big sad blue eyes and for once in this lifetime, these eyes were not strangers.

"But it's not his fault," he continued. "He just did what he had to do to save Mokuba and himself. He made a decision in the beginning, but he had no other choice. _We_ had no other choice," he finished with determination strong in his voice.

Kisara felt overwhelmed. Kaiba's hatred that she despised so much was only a reflection of what he'd gone through. More than that, it was a mask. _He doesn't want to be hurt again_ , she realized. Her eyes reached for Kaiba once more. This was the man she had stood by so many times in the past. That's why she'd seen countless terrified faces: she'd been there when Kaiba had needed a hand, even when he had never known that. She was well aware that he wasn't the Priest Seto she remembered, but she had never been able to give up on him because she knew. Deep down she knew Priest Seto and Seto Kaiba were one and were two different people at the same time and she'll do anything to keep her promise to protect both of them.

"He cares about you", young Seto affirmed and took one of her hands between his.

"No, he doesn't. He cares about Blue Eyes, that's all", Kisara said softly waking up from her reverie. She looked down on their hands while trying to choke a strong feeling of sadness.

"No, he cares about you, Kisara," the boy affirmed her. "He might be too stubborn to admit it. But he wonders sometimes, especially when he uses the card." He shrugged. "I think he maybe wants to believe, but in the end he insists is just-"

"Hocus pocus mumbo jumbo," they finished in unison.

They chuckled together. With the smile still in place, Kisara stared deeply into the boys eyes and said: "You asked for my help, so I'm going to help. But you need to know, it's your time to be strong." She put one hand in each shackle and focused. Shortly after, they started to shine brightly. Young Seto was a little scared, but the confidence and peace exuding from Kisara helped him calmed down. The light kept getting brighter and then slowly the shackles started to disappear.

Young Seto stared at this excitingly and then he gazed up to Kisara, who was vanishing into the air merging back with the Dragon. "Thank you", he whispered. She nodded with a smile, and disappeared in front of his eyes.

Ring by ring, the chain was destroyed by Kisara's light up until it reached Kaiba's heart. In that moment time unfroze and took its normal course. Kaiba felt a lighting struck his chest and was barely able to stand on his feet. Looking ahead of him his opponent was still standing. Suppressing his urge to scream in pain, he put an arm across his chest, inhaled sharply and yelled:

"BLUE EYES, ATTACK!"

The dragon obeyed, erasing the last life points of the other duelist as Kaiba fell unconscious face down to the ground.


End file.
